Severe thunderstorms and heavy rains rolling through Lackawanna County knocked out power to thousands of homes, flooded several streets in the Abingtons and injured one person in Scranton who was struck by lightning.

Hail one inch in diameter fell in both South Abington Twp. and Harford, while Clarks Summit and South Abington Twp. saw flash flooding, one of the many areas north of Scranton that saw at least 4 inches of water.

Lackawanna County emergency dispatchers said a person was struck by lightning near the 2100 block of Boulevard Avenue in Scranton around 4:15 p.m. Lackawanna Ambulance transported one person to a local hospital, but no report on the incident was available Wednesday night.

Trees and power lines were knocked down throughout the county, according to police scanner reports. In the Abingtons, 911 dispatchers asked emergency responders to bring chain saws to cut through trees blocking the road.

PPL Electric Utilities outage center website reported 1,422 homes in Lackawanna County without power as of 1:20 this morning. Crews worked throughout the night and into today making repairs and assessing damage with the goal of getting power restored to all customers sometime today, PPL spokesman Paul Canevari said.

The storm was caused when record-tying 95 degree heat collided with a cold front, resulting in winds blustering up to 60 mph, said AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Pigott said. In addition to knocking down trees and power lines, wind blew an umbrella outside Luigi's Pizza in Olyphant, striking the windshield of a vehicle outside the shop, leaving it severely cracked, a store employee said.

Dickson City police blocked off a portion of Route 6 for flooding, but reopened the road later at night, Chief William Bilinski said.

Scranton Police Lt. Marty Crofton said there was flooding that caused vehicles to get stuck in water near the underpass on Green Ridge Street and East Market Street. He also reported a lightning hit a stone cross atop the church on the 1400 block of East Elm Street, disintegrating it.

A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 9 p.m. Wednesday in Lackawanna, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Pike and Luzene counties, according to the National Weather Service.

More thunderstorms are expected tonight, Mr. Pigott said.

Contact the writer:

ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on Twitter

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